Pak police rescue three Hindu sisters after community backlash over alleged conversion

Karachi, Jun 20 (PTI) Pakistan police have rescued three girls and their male cousin belonging to the minority Hindu community in Sindh province after a severe backlash over their alleged forced conversions.

The Hindu community reacted strongly after appeals from the mothers of the three sisters, aged 16, 19 and 22, and their 13-year-old male cousin, who claimed that they were forcibly converted to Islam.

The four were rescued by police from Hyderabad on Thursday evening.

“We also arrested the suspect who is behind their conversions,” senior police official, SSP Ghulam Nabi Keerio said.

He said that the three sisters and their cousin had left their home without informing anyone on Wednesday morning.

A few hours later, their videos emerged where they said they had converted to Islam of their own will and also accused their family of trying to harm them.

The incident led to a backlash after the mothers of the children held a press conference and said the boy was just 13 and didn’t even understand religion.

Following the press conference, the Hindu Panchayat and some elected leaders urged police to take action.

Rajesh Kumar, head of the Hindu Panchayat, described the incident as not just a family tragedy, but a communal one.

"These girls are not just daughters of Hindus — they are daughters of Sindh," he said, while showing their photos and questioning whether they were mature enough to decide to change their religion.

"The problem of abductions, forced conversions and marriages of Hindu girls and women in Sindh is a major problem for the Hindu community," Kumar said.

“It is only in cases where the children belong to influential or well-off families that the authorities respond, but in many cases where the girls come from uneducated and poor backgrounds, nothing is done,” he said. PTI CORR GSP GSP